


Language and Perspective

by Officialstevenstone (orphan_account)



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Modern Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-04-19 12:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4747049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Officialstevenstone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link is a witch who runs a small potions and charms shop in the middle of L.A., specializing in hard to make potions and is considered to be one of the best of his craft. Rhett is recommended to his shop after he starts seeking out a love potion in order to fall in love with a girl he's on track to marry. Even though Link agrees to make it for him, there's a secret looming over their heads, and Rhett isn't quite sure if he wants to know what it is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been sitting on this idea for about a month now, and after passing around ideas with a few friends, I managed to get off my lazy ass and start writing.
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful beta, [Grace](http://archiveofourown.org/users/generally).

“ _ **Language and perspective** shape the way we live,_

 _Some things are hard to take and even harder to give_.”

\- Bad Suns, "Matthew James"

The shop was cramped and stuffy, heat rolling across Link’s skin and causing sweat to bead along his neck and soak into the collar of his cotton shirt. California was way too hot, and having a cheap air conditioner that didn’t work half the time wasn’t helping the matter. It felt like he was being cooked alive, and the congested store was the oven.

There were worse ways to die, Link supposed as he scratched a list of ingredients into his oversized binder. At least he was doing the thing he loved, surrounded by the useless but interesting objects he used as a way to draw customers in. It really didn’t help that there was another person in here with him, shuffling around constantly and only serving to produce more heat that settled over the shop like a sticky haze.

“Boss, can we please get a new air conditioner?”

Link glanced up from his work briefly, pencil pausing over the already messy, scribbled notebook. He raised an eyebrow at his assistant, who was leaning heavily on his upright broom and looked just as hot and miserable as Link felt.

“I don’t know, Chase, I think this could be good for us,” he said, sticking the writing utensil behind his ear, “think of it as hot yoga. Just drink plenty of water and you’ll be fine.”

Chase rolled his eyes, shifting his feet and resuming his sweeping. There seemed to be a never ending amount of dust collecting on the floor, so cleaning made for good busy work when the shop had a slow day. Which today just so happened to be one of.

It was obvious Chase was bored out of his mind, constantly moving about the shop and organizing things that were already organized or cleaning places that already seemed to shine, all the while muttering something about “hot yoga my ass.” Link admired his work ethic, he wouldn’t have chosen him as an assistant/apprentice if he didn’t pour effort into everything he did, but he also pitied the kid a little bit. He had no patience whatsoever, mentally unable to handle being idle for even a second. Chase always felt the need to be doing _something_.

Link’s focus was redirected towards the door when he heard the small bell jingle above it, signalling that they had company. He perked up, the stifling heat pushed to the back of his mind as he watched the customer enter.

Man, he was _giant_. He had to duck under the door slightly to even get in, lest he graze his hair on the wooden frame. Link let his eyes trace over the lines of the man's chest briefly, the corners of his lips twitching into a slight smile as he took in just how snug Tall Blonde and Handsome’s purple v-neck was.  And that beard… God, it’s like this guy was all of Link’s weaknesses wrapped up in a neat little package.

Link tore his eyes from the man's body, not wanting to get caught admiring the view. He met the customer’s gaze with a grin instead.

“Welcome to Link’s Potions and Charms, is there anything I can help you with?” He asked, making his voice as cheery and upbeat as possible. Rarely did they get new customers, so Link needed to leave a good impression in the hopes that he would come back.

The man gave Link a quick once over before replying:

“Yeah, actually, I was referred here from another shop. Apparently the potion I’m looking for is pretty difficult to make.”

Link’s smile grew wider, taking a cocky air to it. “Lay it on me. I can make any potion you throw my way.” Which was more than likely true. There was a reason he was considered to be one of the best of his craft.

The man approached the counter, coming to rest his pelvis against the wooden edge. He leaned forward ever so slightly, gaze flickering to Chase briefly (who was engulfed in his own work and wasn’t paying them any mind) before he turned his full attention back to Link.

“I need a love potion.” He murmured, voice low and serious. It was obvious he didn’t want anyone but Link to hear, and his secretive attitude immediately put a damper on Link’s playful mood.

Of _course_ the one cute guy to walk into his shop in months would be this kind of asshole, the type of person to seek out a potion in order to take advantage of other people. A feeling of disgust settled into the pit of Link’s stomach, and he had to stop himself from curling his lip up in a snarl. Even being asked to make one made Link feel cheap and dirty.

“Sir, you do realize it’s completely illegal for me to even _consider_ making you a love potion?” Link started, his reply cold as ice. “And even if it wasn’t against several laws, I _still_ wouldn’t sell it to you, because the act of using one is beyond immoral.”

This wasn’t the first time Link had chewed out some sleazebag for coming to him for a bottle of artificial romance, but the requests never failed to make Link furious. He felt raw energy begin to crawl down his arms and towards his palms, which were pressed flat against the wooden grain of the counter. Sparks of magic popped from Link’s fingertips, crackling along his skin and conveying how short-tempered he could be.

Alarm crossed the other man's features as he leaned away from the white hot flickers of light, hands coming up quickly in defense as he realized his mistake

“Hey, listen, it’s not like that,” he said hastily. “It isn’t for someone else. It’s for me. I need to fall in love with someone.”

Now _that_ caught Link’s attention. Maybe this guy wasn’t such a dick after all.  

The sparks of magic fizzled out just as quickly as they came, curiosity replacing the previous flames of anger. Link was still somewhat ticked, but he pushed the irritation away and instead let the customer’s words sink in fully. This was a whole new ballpark, as self-inflicted elixirs like this came with a completely different set of laws. Not to mention they fell in an entirely separate category in terms of Link’s moral code.

But if it came down to it, he wouldn’t get his license revoked for making this guy a Cupid’s Bow potion. Link had made it for someone before, after all.

“Oh…?”

“Yeah,” the customer said, suddenly sheepish. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his chin down. “It’s, uh, really personal. But I guess I should tell you anyway. Asking you to make something like that without an explanation wouldn’t be fair.”

He drew in a short breath before looking up to meet Link’s eyes again.

“I’m supposed to marry this girl. We’ve known each other since we were kids, and we just grew up with this knowledge that we were going to get married. It was expected, I guess, so we both went with it. Except I never fell in love with her.” He licked his lips nervously, giving Link a small, strained smile, “I just figured it’d happen along the way, you know? But here I am three years into a relationship with a girl I don’t even love that my parents are pressuring me to marry.”

Link raised an eyebrow. Yeah, definitely not a dick. This guy would rather sacrifice his own happiness in order to stay with a person he didn’t love instead of break up with her. It’d probably be touching if Link hadn’t heard a similar spiel already.

“Yeah, you probably should have led with that,” Link told him, sliding the pencil out from behind his ear and directing his gaze down at the huge binder on the counter in front of him. He flipped through the pages, fingers trailing over various sticky tabs poking out from the side until Link found the one he wanted. “You had yourself pegged as a sleazeball there for a second. I thought you were just in here trying to find something to help you pick up women. What’s your name, anyway?”

The customer gave a nervous laugh and scratched at the back of his neck.

“You’re right, I probably should have. My name’s Rhett.”

Link gave him a hum of acknowledgement, eyes trained on the mess of instructions in front of him. Most of the pages in his potions binder were unorganized and all over the place, but this particular sheet was more than just messy. Every inch was covered in ink and graphite, with a big red “DO NOT MAKE” stamped across the top.

Link was never one to follow his own warnings anyway, even though he knew he really should just turn this guy away. This wasn’t going to end well on Link’s side of things.

“Well Rhett,” He started, picking the entire book up in one hand while he used the other to scribble down Rhett’s name in the small pocket of free space in the corner, “follow me to the back. We need to discuss this in private. Chase, watch the shop for a bit, would you?”

Pivoting on his heels without looking up, Link managed to miss the way Rhett’s eyes absolutely lit up. He was already making his way towards the door labeled “employees only” and almost missed Rhett’s question.

“Wait, you’re actually making this for me?” Poorly covered excitement dripped from each syllable, tugging at Link’s heart slightly. These next few months were going to be absolute hell if he already felt like this.

“Did I say that?” he retorted, still not looking back. “There’s a lot of stuff we need to talk about, this is a tricky potion to make. There’s no guarantee here, man.”

Quick footsteps sounded behind him, and Link moved forward to push the door open. The back room wasn’t nearly as cluttered as the actual store, but it was just as hot. An idle stove was fit snug between two sets of colorfully stained counters on the far side of the room, cabinets of ingredients and utensils both above and below. There was a fridge as well, housing not only his and Chase’s lunches but in-progress orders for other customers. It could be very easily be mistaken for a messy kitchen instead of a witches workshop.

Link gently laid the book on the small circular table, pulling out a wooden chair and motioning widely for Rhett to take up the one across from him.

“Would you like tea? Coffee? I’m sure I could dig something up. Chase brings in all kinds of crap, treating this place like a kitchen-” Link cut himself off, knowing full well he was rambling. He tended to do that when he was multitasking, the pencil in his hand flying wildly across the paper, making notes as his mind raced to plan out how to gather the majority of these ingredients.

“Water?” Rhett asked as he settled into the seat opposite. He was watching Link work, curiosity written across his features. He’d never seen a witch before, at least not one in action. He found it fascinating, eyes trailing Link’s every movement.

Sliding the pencil back behind his ear, Link flitted across the room to the fridge, his movements graceful and fast. After years of working on his feet in cramped spaces, he’d developed a very fluid way of moving, and once he got into the swing of things, it showed.

“So,” Link started as he pulled a couple water bottles into his hands, “before we even start talking about this entire situation in front of us, I need to know who recommended you to me. You said it was another shop, yeah?”

He shut the fridge door with his hip before making his way back over to the table, handing the chilled bottle off to Rhett.

“Yeah, uh, they said not to give any names. Just that you were the person to go to for stuff like this. Like I said, apparently it’s pretty difficult to make.”

 _That’s an understatement_ , Link thought to himself as he situated himself into his seat. The potion itself was pretty simple, gathering the ingredients was going to be the hard part. Some of the things listed on the paper in front of him were obscure to the point where he didn’t exactly know how to get them.

“Well, doesn’t matter I guess. It’s no surprise whoever it was turned you away, this is advanced even by my standards,” he replied, unscrewing the cap on his water and taking a quick drink. The chill felt good compared to how heated the room was, and he savored the feeling before going back to looking over the instructions.

There were only 6 ingredients, a relatively small amount for a potion of this caliber.

_6 red rose petals_

_1 cup liquefied moonlight_

_1 ½ cups powdered sunrise_

_1 Saturn's Ring blossom stem_

_¼ cup fire lily oil_

_Dash of first kiss essence_

“How soon do you need to marry this girl?” Link asked suddenly, reaching to pull his phone out in order to check the date. They could only get liquefied moonlight on a full moon, and if Link’s mental calculations were correct, the next one wouldn’t be until the end of the month. And today was the third. _Great_.

“As soon as you can get the potion finished. Does this mean we’re a go on you making this for me?” Rhett sat up a little straighter, leaning forward ever so slightly. He continued to watch Link intently, hoping for an answer.

Link ignored the question. There were several things Rhett needed to agree upon before Link even began to consider making it for him.

“It’ll be a month or two before it’s completed. Some of the things we need for it are pretty time sensitive. That okay?” It had to be okay, there was no way he could make time move faster. Witches much better than him had already tried.

“That’s fine,” Rhett told him, nodding a little bit. He was looking at the book in front of Link, trying his best to read the scribbled print upside down. “Take as long as you need. My parents have waited this long, they can wait a month or two more.”

 _His parents_. A hint of sorrow settled in Link’s chest. The poor guy wasn’t even doing this for himself, but for everyone else around him. He took the term “people pleaser” to a whole new extreme. Link pushed his glasses up slightly as he began to run through the several other questions he needed to ask Rhett.

“Before I even start to think about agreeing to make this potion for you, there are a couple things you should know.” He started, taking in a slight breath before he began his speech. “Disclaimer number one: this potion is non-reversible. Once you drink this thing, there’s no way to fall out of love. Only time can degrade the effects of the potion, and even then, it’ll take years for it to begin to fade. The Cupid’s Bow is considered the strongest love potion for a reason.”

“I understand.” Rhett said, not seeming phased by the prospect of being irreversibly in love with someone. If anything, he seemed almost bored, like he’d been through this whole thing before. Maybe he did his research, Link mused before continuing.

“Alright then, on to disclaimer number two: you can’t hold me responsible if something happens between the two of you. If she ends up saying no or wants a divorce or whatever, you can’t come back and sue me over this love potion. I’ll have you sign legal papers before I sell anything to you, but that’s just a heads up.”

This was a little over the top, but Link wasn’t taking any chances. People would sue over the stupidest things, and while Rhett seemed like a level headed person, Link wouldn’t put it past a near-stranger to try and screw him over. Rhett didn’t seem phased by it though, only nodding once before throwing in a simple “got it.” Otherwise he remained silent, prompting Link to go on.

“Disclaimer number three: you have to help me make this love potion. This is non-negotiable. If you’re not involved in the process, the magic won’t work and we’ll have a useless potion. Don’t ask me why you have to help, because I really don’t know. That’s just what the instructions say, and I’m not about to put months of hard work and several hundred dollars into this to have it go to waste.”

That seemed to get Rhett’s attention, a curious look coming over his face as he regarded Link’s statement.

“What do you mean by ‘helping you,’ exactly?” He asked, toying with the label on his water bottle. Maybe this would be a dealbreaker for him.

“You’ll help me gather ingredients, stir the potion when I tell you to stir it, stuff like that. Nothing crazy, though you may have to take off work a couple days and be willing to wake up at the asscrack of dawn in order to get some of these things.” He paused briefly, trying to think of anything else to add. He’d covered most of everything, except for payment.

“Oh, and another thing, price is also non-negotiable. This potion is expensive. Upwards of five hundred dollars if I’m doing my math correctly. You still willing to go through with this?”

“Sounds good to me,” Rhett replied, relaxing a little bit into his chair once he realized that was all Link had to talk to him about. Yeah, he’d definitely done some type of research on this. “When can we start getting everything together?”

Link gave a short laugh. “Don’t be so eager. Most of this is pretty boring. The shop is closed on Wednesdays, so we can go pick out some of the plants we need from a friend of mine who runs a nursery. That sound good to you?”

Rhett smiled wide, already looking way too excited for someone who was going to sell their life away to a love potion. “Yeah, I don’t have work until four on Wednesday. When and where do you want to meet?”

“We can meet here around ten, but let’s exchange numbers just in case. We have to plan a couple more outings anyway.” Link was already going through his mental calendar of what dates would be best to get some of the more difficult ingredients. Thank God he didn’t book the next couple months up too much, there was plenty of time for them to get everything together.

“Outings?” Rhett asked, breaking Link out of his thoughts with a deep laugh. “You make it sound like we’re a married couple.”

“Oh, it’ll seem like we are by the end of this,” Link shot back, hoping his smile didn’t falter at just how true his statement was. They were going to have to get to know each other pretty well in order for everything to work out.

Rhett didn’t stick around too long after they exchanged numbers, saying how he didn’t want his girlfriend to get suspicious about his extended absence. Link and Chase both bid him a farewell, the latter giving Link a curious look once Rhett departed.

Link did his best to ignore it, entering the back room once again to start fulfilling more orders instead of paying his apprentice’s gaze any mind. There were things he’d rather not think about, one of which being exactly how easily it had been to let himself fall into making another one of these. He’d never verbally agreed, but there had been a subtle shift in the conversation, when the “if” turned into a “when” and Link hadn’t even batted an eye at it.

There was a reason he had written the warning at the top of the recipe page, the red pen nearly slashing through the paper at the time, leaving deep grooves that went several pages back. Maybe he _should_ have ripped it up like he had considered, destroyed all traces of the Cupid’s Bow after he’d made it the first time, when his heart had been broken even though he’d seen it coming from a mile away.

Maybe things would be different with Rhett.

 


	2. Chapter 2

The sun shone bright, heating the cement beneath Link’s feet as he shifted from side to side. Iced coffee in one hand and phone in the other, he let out an irritated huff. Even though Rhett had shot him a warning text about running late, Link couldn’t help getting a little ticked. They were already short on time as it was, and the first day of gathering ingredients wasn’t off to a good start given that it was ten-thirty and Link was _still_ standing outside of the shop. He could be sleeping in right now; it was technically his day off!

Before Link could brew in his bad attitude, he saw Rhett approaching from his right. He pocketed his phone and turned towards him, raising an eyebrow as Rhett gave him a sheepish look. Link knew he wouldn’t be able to stay mad for long, not with those puppy dog eyes Rhett was giving him on top of how breathtaking he managed to look in just a simple grey t-shirt and jeans.

“Sorry I’m so late, man. My girlfriend decided to make breakfast, and it’d be weird if I didn’t stick around to eat it.” Rhett said, watching as the tension dissipated from Link’s shoulders. He really hadn’t meant it, he’d woken up earlier than normal on his late work days in order to get ready to leave when he was surprised with a big breakfast, courtesy of the girlfriend he really didn’t deserve.

“Yeah, whatever, let’s just go. I told Stevie we’d be there at opening and I don’t want her to be on my ass about not being on time,” Link replied, trying to sound gruff but with no real conviction. He was too much of a softie to pull it off, especially with Rhett. They’d known each other less than a week, exchanged only a handful of texts, and yet Link was already so relaxed around him. It didn’t seem fair.

The walk to the nursery was a short one, though the bustle of L.A. made their casual stroll last a little longer than it should have (not that either really seemed to mind). They made normal small talk, swapping pleasantries as they approached the nondescript building. A simple painted sign reading “Florist” hung out front, and the display windows were bursting with flowers and plants of various shapes and sizes. The shop’s hours were printed next to the door in blocky white letters, but Link payed them no mind. The store was open to him anytime, as Stevie had once put it.

“You said a friend owns this place?” Rhett asked as he looked into the window, expression curious. There were too many different types of flora for him to even begin to count. He’d been to several florists in his lifetime, often surprising his girlfriend with flowers when the thought crossed his mind, but none of the shops he’d been in looked this dazzling. And this was just the display case!

“Yeah, Stevie’s great.” Link said, pulling out his keyring and quickly searching for the appropriate key. “She’s not actually here yet, so we’re opening for her right now. She’ll be in here about a half hour and she wants us to watch her store in exchange for a discount on some of these plants.”

“Wait, we’re _opening_ for her?”

“Yeah, you got problem with that? You don’t have to do anything. I’ll handle the customers, since the only people that come here are witches. You can just sit there and look pretty.”

Rhett rolled his eyes at Link’s teasing jab, walking in after him once Link managed to unlock the glass door. The inside of the shop was just as busy as the window made it seem, potted plants strewn about the interior, some even hanging from the ceiling. There was a set of fridges to one side, which were mostly empty at the moment, save for some rather sad looking bouquets that were past their prime.

“Does she want us to do anything while we wait?” Rhett asked, eyes traveling all across the store. It was just so _colorful_.

“Nope,” Link replied, setting his coffee on the counter before he slid across it to the other side. “We just need to make sure it doesn’t burn down or something. Keep customers entertained, stuff like that.”

Rhett nodded, starting to shuffle around the shop in order to inspect the flowers and other vegetation. A lot of them looked pretty normal, stuff you’d find in suburban gardens, but then there were other plants that looked like they were straight out of a science fiction novel. It was a startling contrast, and Rhett was almost afraid to get too close. Surely none of them were poisonous, right?

“Don’t touch anything, Stevie keeps some weird stuff around here.” Link said suddenly, as if he could read Rhett’s thoughts. He had his eyes trained on the other man, fighting off a grin as he watched Rhett’s expression change from one of curiousity to one of fear.

“Wait, for real?” Rhett straightened up, moving away from the pot he had been inspecting and towards the counter.

“No, not really. Stevie brings her dog in here all the time, none of the stuff is dangerous,” Link laughed, legs propped next to the register as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. “Take it easy, man, I’m just messing with you.”

Rhett turned to chew Link out, but stopped at the sight of his wide smile. His cheeks looked rosy in the florescent lighting, having taken on a nice color from their short walk in the hot L.A. sun. Cute.

“Don’t scare me like that. I thought I was going to lose a hand or something,” Rhett muttered. “Witch stuff is weird.”

Link gave a sweeping wave of his hand, brushing Rhett’s comment off with a shrug. He’d heard stuff like that before, but in a much more rude and hateful manner. He wasn’t exactly a stranger to being weird, after all.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Link mumbled before taking a sip of his coffee. They’d already passed a good amount of time since they opened the doors, and the store had been dead quiet save for the little squeaks of Rhett’s shoes. The shop wasn’t ever really bustling with people, given its niche audience. Only witches and the occasional tourist came in here, and that was perfectly fine by Link’s (and Stevie’s) standards. It made Link’s life easier, not having to deal with people. It seemed like babysitting Rhett was already a handful.

The pair remained silent after that, choosing instead to both be involved with their phones while they waited for the shop's owner to show up. It was only about five minutes before a head of light strawberry blonde hair gracefully breezed into the store, a small dog following close behind on a leash.

“Thank for opening for me, Link,” the women, presumably Stevie, said. She had a load of bags in her arms, all unlabeled and heavy looking. “Can you take Enzo off his leash for me? I need to go put all these seeds in the back. Morgan managed to hook me up with some pretty exclusive species this week.”

Link perked up and nodded, pocketing his phone in order to take the small, happy looking dog from Stevie’s already full hands. After letting him off his leash and watching him putter around the shop for a few seconds, he turned his attention back to Rhett, who had been watching the quick exchange with piqued interest.

“That’s Stevie,” he said with a grin. “She’s the one that’s getting us the saturn’s ring and the fire lily.”

Before Rhett could reply, Stevie was already in front of them again,  wearing a clean looking green apron with her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Rhett was stunned. How did witches manage to move so fast?

Stevie gave Rhett a quick once over, eyes hard to read, before pivoting on her heels and motioning for them to follow.

“I only have a couple of each, since they’re a pain in the ass to grow, but I’m letting you pick which one you want, Lover Boy.” Stevie told him, voice carefully controlled as she led them through the back room, which was filled with bags of potting soil and seeds as well as what appeared to be a small break area, and towards another set of glass doors at the end of the room.

“‘Lover Boy?’ Did you tell her about the potion?” Rhett glanced at Link, raising an eyebrow. It was obvious Link trusted her, but letting his personal business out like this made Rhett nervous. The more people who knew about this, the more likely it was that his girlfriend could find out.

“I kinda had to. Witches just don’t come in here looking for some rare plants without an explanation. But don’t sweat it, I’m sure she’s heard worse.”

“Like you would not _believe_ ,” she muttered under her breath as she pushed open the pair of doors, sending a rush of sticky, humid air right into their faces. Bright light filtered from the glass ceiling as well as from the sides, shining on the variety of greenery laid out before the trio. The greenhouse looked like it could have come straight out of some cheery Disney movie. The only things missing were the happily chirping birds flying between the radiant blossoms.

Stevie kept moving forward, not stopping to let either enjoy the dazzling view as she marched straight to the back corner of the greenhouse. There was a small shuffle beneath Rhett and he glanced down to see that Stevie’s dog, Endo or Bozo or something like that, had followed them in. He looked right at home among the various flora, trailing after his owner with a perked up tail.

“Alright, here are they. Be careful if you’re going to touch them, and once you pick out which you want, I’ll ring you two up at the front.” With that, Stevie was gone, like she hadn’t even been there in the first place, leaving them both to inspect the potted plants laid out before them. Rhett tried not to linger too long on just how fast she seemed to be able to move. It creeped him out a little bit, in all honesty.

He fought the urge to ask Link about it and instead turned his attention to study the flowers before them. One of the plants looked like a normal, vibrant lily drenched in a deadly shade of red, while the other flower looked like nothing Rhett had seen in his life. It was like someone had taken the stem of the plant and peeled it back down, fanning it out and adding slight indentions to the powdery white bloom, giving it the impression of having rings.

There were a few of each, all poking out of dark soil and reaching up towards the sun. They looked dangerous, like Rhett would contract some type of rash if he touched them. But they also looked fragile, in a way. The saturn’s ring reminded him of fine china, delicate and beautiful, like it would perish under the slightest hint of pressure.

Rhett felt a wave of doubt sweep over him as he continued to study the blooms. Link had told him that he was going to have to be the one to pick out each ingredient, to form a connection with the potion on some magic level that he didn’t grasp (and honestly thought was kind of bullshit) but now…

“Link, they literally all look exactly the same. I don’t know which one to pick,” he whispered urgently, keep his voice quiet as if he was confessing some dirty secret.

There was a slight nudge against his shoulder, and Rhett tore his gaze away from the plants and back towards Link, who had one of his hands rested on Rhett’s arm lightly. The warmth from Link’s palm radiated through the thin material of Rhett’s shirt, heating his skin and making it itch a little bit.

“It’s fine, they’re just plants. What matters is that you’re the one to pick them out.”

The small reassurance helped Rhett steady himself some, and he nodded at Link before looking back at the options before them. Link didn’t move his hand until Rhett picked up one of the pots and passed it to him, making sure Link had a firm grip on it before reaching back for the other plant. He tried not to think about how his arm still tingled as they walked back to the front, Enzo hot on their heels.

“It’s only noon,” Link said absentmindedly, pulling his phone out with one hand while he balanced the ceramic pot against his hip with the other. “You said you don’t have work until four? You could come back to the shop with me and we could start on the first part of the potion. That is, if you picked up the roses like I told you to.”

Rhett felt his mind blank momentarily. Roses? What? When- oh, shit.

Link had sent him a text a few days ago as a heads up to go pick out a couple roses, the nicest looking ones he could find at Walmart or some other chain store, and keep them as fresh as possible until they could meet up again. Rhett had completely spaced on it, having spent too much time thinking over the future he was heading towards and how it was basically in the palm of his hands.

“I, uh, forgot, actually.” He said sheepishly, ducking his head and shying away from Link’s elbow that quickly moved to jab him in the side.

“You need to get your head out of the clouds and listen to me if this potion is going to work,” Link scolded good naturedly. “But it’s fine, we can reschedule. When are you free next?”

“Uh… the twenty-second is my next day off.”

“A Tuesday?”

Rhett squinted, doing a brief amount of mental math before he nodded once.

“Yeah, I think so.”

They were at the front of the store by that point, both having dropped the flowers on the counter and were idly chatting while Stevie packaged up the delicate blooms so they wouldn’t be injured on the way back to Link’s place. Her gaze flickered between them, mouth pressed into a thin line. Her eyes were misted with something, and Rhett was trying to figure out what it was exactly when Link replied.

“That’ll work, then. It’ll give me plenty of time to get the oil out of this fire lily. Just don’t forget the rose this time around, yeah?”

“I won’t, I won’t, don’t worry.” Rhett told him absent-mindedly, eyebrows knitted together slightly as he continued to take in Stevie’s body language. She seemed to shy away from him, and even with the counter between them, she leaned more towards Link. It felt like she was keeping a secret, one that Link knew, but Rhett wouldn’t seem to grasp why he felt like that. He didn’t know Stevie, couldn’t have said more than a couple of sentences to her, and yet here he was, feeling suspicious over a women who had done nothing but help him so far.

Link paid for the plants after that, saying quick goodbyes with his friend before turning and marching out the door with Rhett by his side. Rhett threw one last look at Stevie from over his shoulder, catching her gaze and watching it harden as they locked eyes. A shiver ran up Rhett’s spine, even when a warm gust of California air hit him as Link pushed the exit open.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this! I got pretty good reviews on the first chapter, I hope this one goes over just as well. Sorry for all the mysterious build-up, but it's important!
> 
> See you guys next Monday <3


	3. Chapter 3

Link flitted about in the back room, hands full of various ingredients and a potion bubbling on the stove to his right, when he heard someone walking behind him. The footsteps were too heavy to be Chase’s, and even with his mind racing a mile a minute to finish up this order, he deducted the only other person it could be was Rhett. A chair scraped across the floor, and Link presumed he had settled into it, patiently waiting for the witch to complete whatever he was working on before bothering him.

“Sorry, got caught up with some work. This women ordered a sleeping potion for her toddler. Apparently three-year-olds can get insomnia.” Link explained, snapping his fingers and watching as the flame rose higher under the dingy pot.

“Is this even legal?”

“Yeah, it was prescribed by a doctor, actually. I’m making a diluted version per their request.”

There was no reply after that, and Link began to clean up all of the equipment he didn’t need. He dumped the dirty dishes into the sink, making a mental note to tell Chase wash those later. After he packaged all of the perishable ingredients back up and stowed them in the fridge, taking care to not put anything dangerous next to the food in there, he turned his attention back to the pot on the stove, which was at a roaring boil. Link quickly removed it from the heat, snapping his fingers again in order to get the flame to diminish and stowed it on one of the back burners to let it cool.

The place was still a mess, the counters splattered with thick, black sludge and the floor covered in a fine layer of crushed poppy seeds after Link had managed to knock the container over. It felt like he was right at home in the chaos.

“Okay, did you bring the roses?” Link asked as he pulled a towel out from one of the drawers and started wiping off some of the more off-putting grease spots. He glanced back at Rhett, finding him to be watching his every move. A small part of him was tempted to make a smart-aleck quip about Rhett ‘liking what he saw,’ but he thought better of it.

“M-hm,” Rhett nodded, jerking his head slightly to indicate that they were on the table behind him. “You didn’t need me to pick up anything else, right?”

“Nope. Bring the bouquet over here and grab the saturn's ring out of the fridge, would you? The oil should be in a jar next to it if you want to get that too.”

Link was already pulling a cutting board and knife out, as well as a speckled grey mortar and pestle, when Rhett managed to get out of the chair. He set the bundle of roses on the cleanest-looking part of the counter next to Link, and moved towards the fridge to get everything else they needed.

“You’re going to be doing most everything today,” Link told him, gently picking up the thick bunch of roses and inspecting their heads. All of them looked to be in pretty good shape; whatever store Rhett managed to pick these up from having obviously taken good care of the plant. “It’s nothing major, and I printed out a clean sheet of instructions for you since my handwriting isn’t always the most legible.” _And because the giant disclaimer at the top of the recipe page can be a little intimidating._

Rhett nodded, gently laying all of the ingredients behind the utensils Link had already gotten out. He took the folded paper from between Link’s fingers, quickly unfolding it and reading through it.

_Crush rose petals and saturn’s ring stem together in mortar and pestle, adding the fire weed oil and stirring until smooth. Let sit for 24 hours before moving on to the next step._

“Really? That’s it?” Rhett raised an eyebrow as he looked at Link, who was peering over his shoulder in order to read the instructions as well. He noted faintly that the shop's temperature seemed to have risen by a few degrees.

“Yeah, what did you expect? It’s an easy potion to make, the ingredients are what make it so advanced. I told you that, didn’t I?”

Rhett shrugged. Link probably had, but he wasn’t exactly the best listener.

“Probably. So I just need to follow this and then we’re done? It says to let it set for 24 hours, but we still don’t have most of the ingredients we need.”

“It’s fine if it sits for a couple weeks, I can always put an anti-rot spell on it. It’ll just make the potion more potent, there’s no real harm in it,” Link told him as he moved back, giving Rhett space to work as their conversation wound down. If this was going to work, Rhett needed to do as much of it on his own as possible. Rarely did potions call for someone other than a trained witch creating them, so Link savored the small break he got in the middle of his already busy day.

Link let his eyes trail over Rhett’s back as he gingerly cut the bloom off of the saturn’s ring, preserving the stem to the best of his ability. He was wearing skinny jeans yet again, the grey material hugging his thighs nicely, and sending a rush of heat to Link’s cheeks one he realized he was staring at his customers lower half for much longer than what was appropriate. Hell, staring at a customer's ass in general wasn’t appropriate at _all_ , no matter the time frame. Forcing himself to tear his gaze away, Link studied the banged up cabinets next to his head before weakly saying:

“You should probably cut the stem into smaller pieces, it’ll be easier to get a good consistency that way.”

Rhett gave a hum of acknowledgement and carried on, the familiar sound of the knife hitting the cutting board beginning to fill the room. It did little to ease Link’s suddenly racing thoughts, and he absent-mindedly scratched at his neck as he tried to sort out his emotions.

They hadn’t even known each other for a month, and it was all fun and games for Link to check Rhett out at first, but he couldn’t keep doing it. He couldn't let himself start to think of Rhett in that way. He was an acquaintance, a customer, and if Link let himself have an inch, his heart would take a mile and everything would fall apart again. How could he let himself do this? Everyone had warned him to cancel the order: Stevie, Chase, all the other witches that heard about it through the grapevine. He should know better, they said, that this was a mistake and he needed to fix it before everything went to hell again.

Amidst his daze of thoughts, Link barely registered that Rhett had already moved on to grinding the plants together, trying to make small talk with the witch behind him.

“You okay, man?” Rhett asked after Link didn’t reply, voice soft as he glanced over his shoulder to see him staring blankly at one of the cabinets. Normally Link was all playful jabs and teasing humor, but he was awfully quiet today. It made Rhett uneasy. Had he done something wrong?

Link blinked a couple times, one of his hands coming up to rub at his right eye as he focused on Rhett’s voice, using it as a way to drag himself out of the depths of his thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry, just thinking about some stuff. How’s it look so far?”

Rhett relaxed some, watching Link come out of whatever daze he had been in with a soft expression on his face. It only served to make Link feel nauseous.

“Good, I think. You should probably take a look though.”

He stepped to the side, leaving plenty of space for Link as he moved forward to inspect the mushy substance. His mind still felt clouded, his emotions running much too high for him to focus on the task at hand. Which wasn’t good, Link needed to be able to make accurate readings on these mixtures or the potion wouldn’t turn out.

 _Get yourself together, man_. Link scolded himself, fingers twitching as he pushed the paste around in the mortar. The consistency was thick, the color a deep shade of red. Adding the fire lily oil would only make it darker, like congealed blood. The thought made his stomach turn.

Rhett was eagerly craning his neck to peek over Link’s shoulder, despite the several inches he had on his height. A wave of déjà vu hit Link like a truck, and he wanted to double over. Rhett was acting so much like _her_ , it wasn’t even funny.

“Looks good,” Link mumbled after a second, backing away from the counter with slightly unsteady steps. “Just add the oil and you’re done. You don’t have to stick around, I can take care of the rest from here.”

There was a flash of something across Rhett’s features, disappointment? Maybe, hopefully not, Link didn’t linger on it. He _couldn’t_ linger on it, it made his heart ache just thinking about disappointing Rhett.

The rest passed in a sort of blur, Link going on autopilot in order to keep himself somewhat sane. He felt like he was with Emily again, laughing and flirting and falling in love with a ticking time bomb. Maybe he was falling in love, even if they’d only talked to one another for a few weeks, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Link fell into things hard and fast, especially if his magic was involved with it at all.

Having his magic linked so closely to his emotions was such a pain in the ass.

“Link,” Rhett said, his voice just as gentle as before. He was sitting at the table now, watching Link clean up their small mess with worried eyes. There was a part of him that felt like he should be helping, even if Link had shooed him off. “Are you sure you’re alright? I can stick around and help out if you’re not feeling well-”

“I’m fine, Rhett, I promise.” Link kept his gaze cast down, wishing he’d just _go_. They still had so much to do with this potion and he needed to sort out his emotions before they went any further. “You can go. I’m sure your girlfriend is probably missing you.”

He could feel the doubt radiating from the other side of the room, but Rhett didn’t try to argue. It wasn’t his place to anyway, and Link was glad he was backing down.

What he was _not_ glad for was Rhett gathering his things together and making his way back over to him, hand coming to rest lightly on Link’s elbow. The tender touch made his knees weak. Yeah, these next few weeks were going to suck if he didn’t get himself together.

“Text me about when we need to get everything else?” He asked, looking down at Link with eyes that held much more concern than he deserved.

“Yeah, of course…” Link mumbled, tearing his gaze away and moving to wipe at the dirty counter. He could feel every callous lining Rhett’s fingers, felt how they scraped across his skin when he pulled away. Link’s hands were buzzing with nervous energy, and he was sure if he wasn’t holding the rag so tightly, there’d be sparks shooting from them.

“I’ll see you later, then.” Rhett was gone after that, leaving a disoriented Link to sway against the counter as he heard the faint jingle of the bell at the front of the shop, signalling that Rhett really had left.

Finally, _finally_ Link didn’t have to hold back anymore. Fireworks practically exploded from his fingertips, scattering across the counter and fizzling out against the cool material. He let out a pained groan to go along with his outburst, head hanging low. He felt so weak.

“Boss?”

Chase was next to him now, having heard the loud, pained noise. He felt warm and safe and familiar against Link’s side as he placed his palm flat against the middle of Link’s back, offering the smallest bit of comfort he could. It helped Link relax some, but he still felt tense and uneasy, especially with the magic popping continuously from his fingers.

“You were right, Chase. This was a mistake.”

“Are you going to cancel the order? This is starting to turn into another Emily-”

Link lifted his head, neck tilted back so he could stare at the dusty ceiling. He should cancel the order, distance himself from Rhett so that whatever emotions were starting to form would stop. But he wouldn’t. He was a man of his word and he didn’t like to disappoint people. This was definitely starting to turn into another Emily-type situation, and yet...

“No.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lot's of hints in this chapter, as well as a name drop! Feel free to share your ideas of what you think happened to this Emily character, she's going to be mentioned again! I promise the pace will pick up in the next chapter, I just had a lot to set up.  
> I'll see you all next Monday! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Lot's of set up, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. 
> 
> Feel free to point out any mistakes, I'll see you guys next Monday!


End file.
